Bruce C Murray, a planetary geologist, in 1979 with a model of Voyager 1. Murray, who won his spurs interpreting findings of early missions to Mars and who led Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory through a time of flagging support for new flights in the late 1970s, died on August 29th of this year at age 81. Photograph: David Strick/New York Times

Am illustration of Voyager 1 passing through an area near the edge of the Solar System known as the magnetic highway. Photograph: JPL-Caltech/Nasa/New York Times

An artist's impression of Voyager 1passing behind the rings of Saturn, using cameras and radio equipment to measure how sunlight is affected as it shines between the ring particles. The image was produced in 1977. Photograph: Nasa/Hulton Archive/Getty Images